Improvement in dentists  articulators



LOUIS HOFFSTADT, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN DENTISTS ARTICULATORS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 118,242, dated August 22, 1871.

. To all 'whom it may concern:

Be it knownthat I, Louis HoFrs'rAD'r, of the city of Philadelphia, in the State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain Improvements in Dentists Articulators, of which the following' is a specification:

My improvements relate to those articulators in which the upper jaw swings, by conical cavitics therein, upon conical pivots iiXed in springs attached to the upright portions of the bracket to which the upper jaw is att-ached, and the iirst part 'of my invention consists in the construction and arrangement ofthe conical pivots as a portion of the upper jaw itself, and their bearings as through holes with inlet guide-notches in the springs, or a notch in one of the springs and in one ofthe uprights of the bracket, the object of this part of my invention being to afford greater facility in reattaching the upper jaw to the uprights of the bracket, which is adjustably attached to the lower jaw. The second part of my invention consists in the hereinafter-described and specified construction and mode of combination of tl1e upright or rear portion ofthe lower jaw and the bracket to which the upper jaw is attached; theobject of this part of my invention being to'more effectua-lly prevent any lateral' motion in the plate to which the upper jaw is a-djustably attached, and to facilitate' the adjustment o f the jaws to any-required distance between them, and 'without causing thereby any lateral Vmotion of oneY jaw in f relation to the oth'er. l. Figure l is a perspective view of an articu- 1 Y lator embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal vsection of the rear portion of the same'- ill-ig. Sis-a plan view of the swinging plate of the bracket detached. Fig. 4 is a front t 1 view of the upper' end of the inner side of the spring detached. Fig. 5 is a vertical detached section of one of the pivots and its bearingspring, as when adjustedwtogether.

The conical pivots a a are Vcast on the bracket-plateY A, to which the upper jaw B is, in the usual manner, adjustably attached. One of the .bearings for the pivots a af is a small throughhole, c', in the upper part of the spring C, which is attached, by its lower end, to one of the uprights d of the bracket D, the other pivot bearing in a corresponding hole in the opposite upright d of the said bracket DQ rlhe inner side ofthe upper end of the spring C has a V-notch or groove, o, which serves as an inclined plane and guide, down which the corresponding pivot ofthe bracket-plate A can be slid into its bearing-hole c by the simple pressure of ones iingers, the spring C yielding outward by the pressure and closing inward upon the pivot as the latter enters the hole, the opposite pivot having been previously inserted in the corresponding hole in the upright ci.

In detaching the plate A, with its attached jaw-naine B, from the bracket D, the operator can easily press the spring C outward by the thumbror finger of one hand and lift the jaw ont by the other hand, so that the `jaw B and plate A can be readily and quickly detached, as one piece, as occasion may require, and reinsertcd with much greater facility, rapidity, and case than heretofore.

The rear part of the lower jaw E is a broad flat upright plate, c', which fits against the bra cket D and with. its side edges 2 2 against the inner sides of the projecting edges of the uprights d d of the bracket, so that the latter will fit and slide accurately up and down between the said uprights when required. The height of the bracket D is secured in the required position by means of a thumb-screw, F, which passes through a vertical slot, 4, in the plate el, and screws into the bracket. The plate c', fitting' broadly and 4iiatly against the correspondingly broad surface of the bracket, and accurately between the edges d! el ofthe saine, a slight pressure ofthe shoulder ofthe screw F will hold the bracket D, with its yattached jaw B, perfectly firm at any position that may be desired, and thus will maintain the parallelism of the two jaws B and E at any distance apart that the articulation of the casts or teeth therein may require.

I claim as my inventionl. The construction and arrangement ofthe pivots a a', as parts of the bracket-plate A, the bearing-hole in the upright d, and the bearinghole e and inclined plane or groove e in the spring G, substantially as and for the purpose t hereinbefore set forth.

2. The broad iiat upright plate c ofthe lower jaw E, the corresponding upright iiat plate D, the uprights d! d of the bracket, and the thiunbscrew'F, the said parts being constructed and combined to operate substantially as and for the purposes hereinbefore set forth.

IVitnesses: LOUIS HOFFSTADT.

BnNJ. MoRIsoN, WM. H. MoRIsoN. 

